How far inland would you suggest people who work to provide oil, gas and commerce through the ports live? If memory serves me, Houston also is below sea level. Where should those that work in ports live?
Most parts of Houston are roughly about 50 feet above sea level (Houston Heights being the highest part of Houston).
Houston is helped slightly by the fact that it's about 40-50 miles away from the coast (which usually takes 30-40 mph off of a hurricane's bite, having gone through Alicia (1983) I can attest to that), though the flatness of the terrain often causes flooding problems (Allison 2001).